The Website of Pat Tusler

Category Archives: Community

You may have been asked to complete a social media satisfaction survey. Online of course. Saw my first one a while ago.

And I’ve been wondering since then whether social media can offer any satisfaction at all?

Human beings are social creatures.

The HeartMath Institute (www.heartmath.org) studies the benefits of being with people. Take a look a this informative video about heart-mind connections.

The film is very inspiring. But it raises a question or two.

How can we use social media to make life more fulfilling?
And that’s not just for individuals but for families, groups and organizations. Society at large.

How can social media have a positive role in our culture?
Does it have a role?

Could it be that the phrase, ‘social media satisfaction’ is actually a mis-direct. After watching the film it would appear impossible for a human being to gain lasting satisfaction through use of social media. Humans are somehow made to interact and thrive with other humans.

And here’s where this gets personal.

I used Facebook for 10 years (almost). And guess what …

In that time I’ve heard and seen so much abuse and argument, rudeness, crudeness and all sorts of nastiness. Among friends. What to speak of among people I don’t know.

Arguments and quarrel rule supreme.

If someone stands for a certain point of view they get slammed. If someone argues, rationally, with grace; they get slammed. If a person states an opinion they are likely to be judged, ridiculed and branded immediately as ‘extreme’.

Social media has become a combination of adverts, gossip, nastiness, arguments and dissension.

Shop nation.

The UK is a nation of shoppers. A nation of online shoppers. Recently read that up to half UK consumers are waiting for ‘Black Friday’ bargains this year. That’s a lot of people waiting to buy a lot of things. Looking for lasting satisfaction in temporary, material objects.

What can we do?

So really we, the Internet community, should not get caught by the economic pull of quick profits. But we should be looking for ways to enhance the human experience with real personal interaction. Not superfluous things like social networks. Because they’re not real people. They are software tools created with good intentions. But been ‘bought-up’ to make money from the masses for a few people.

Light is there too.

Of course there is light among the darkness. Love, truth, wisdom, hope, compassion and transcendent reality can be found in social media too! But all too few people are posting love.

So finally it’s come time to get thinking caps on. And time to bid farewell to social media. It’s been interesting.

Online communities are all very well. But the real need in society is to build and sustain our actual, physical communities.

It’s up to us ‘people’ to build community.

Community doesn’t happen by accident. Nor does it happen by government decree.

Community, by definition, is developed by groups of people.

Recently a musician friend was telling me how much he wanted to stop the smartphone revolution. Because it was stopping people communicating face-to-face.

Communication has long been known to involve much more than the words themselves. It is about body-language, tone of voice, pitch, intensity and emotion.

The words have famously been researched to only make up 7% of the communication.

So reducing communication to only online means losing touch with all the human ‘soft’ elements that come with interaction.

So learning how the Internet can help communities is fundamental.

Communities can use online services to support themselves. For instance mailing lists, SMS lists and social media pages are great tools to support the community. Keeping everyone in the loop.

Using a mix of elements is the day-to-day reality for most of us.

So we might check our email or Facebook for information and notifications. We might listen to the local radio. There may be a poster in the newsagent when we go for milk. Or a friend might tell us what’s happening, how is so-and-so and any latest gossip.

So here lies a challenge to us in the Internet industry … how to make the Internet serve our communities? How can the Internet be used to stop our society from fragmentation and isolation?

Maybe the time is right for some useful community based apps? And how about a free smartphone for all. This would certainly even the field although many elderly people simple can’t use a smartphone …

Why did we chose to come to base our web design company in Wales. A long way from the big cities and the big money.

The short answer is because of the quality of life, the surroundings, nature, beaches, rivers and forests; and of course the people. It’s from where we draw a lot of our inspiration.

Why Wales – here’s one reason… photo of the river at Newcastle Emlyn on a late summer afternoon.

West Wales is famously beautiful.

There is lots of space in Wales as it is mostly rural and has low population levels. Only about 2.8 million people in Wales altogether and its the same size as Israel (co-incidentally).

Pembrokeshire is known by some folk as ‘Little England’. It has some of the best coastline in the world and the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path is listed number three in the best walks in the world by the ramblers.

Ceredigion is the remote ancient kingdom of King Ceredig and overlooks almost all of Cardigan Bay to the west.

Carmarthenshire is often called the ‘heart-of-Wales’ and is still one of the most Welsh of all counties.

The lovely people in Wales.

Country life goes on at a different pace to city life. There is more time because there are fewer people. So there’s never a rush and almost never a queue. Of course you can find yourself stuck behind a tractor or lorry but the roads are excellent and most drivers pull in to let cars past.

People in Wales are mostly friendly and generally good natured. We find they usually have time for a chat and laugh. Of course there’s the odd exception but you get that wherever you are.

The Welsh language.

Our experience of the Welsh language is that most people are happily bi-lingual or mainly English speaking. There are one or two who prefer to only speak the ancient Welsh language of ‘Cymraeg’ exclusively.

Everyone we’ve worked with has awareness of the two languages and it is never an issue. If required translation services are available at reasonable costs. There is no known automated translator for the Welsh language so we hire real translators as needed.

The ‘purpose economy’ is people and businesses working together to achieve common goals beyond simply making profits. Only heard about this recently but it is obvious isn’t it?

working together for shared aims in a purpose economy

The Internet brought with it the ‘knowledge economy’. And now through mass use of communication tools like Twitter and Facebook over 1 billion people have internet access worldwide.

So knowledge has led to people recognising the inner need and the communal need for purpose in life.

Having a purpose is a powerful stabilising force in our lives.

A life without purpose is a bit like wandering round not knowing where you’re going or why. A friend recently described himself as a ‘busy fool’. The world is full of them it seems.

At Tusler Design we always strive to offer the highest quality, useful and conscious solutions we can for our clients. There is no need to compromise because often the ideal solution is also the most cost-effective.

West Wales (where we are based) is a bit of a hotbed of ‘purpose economy businesses’ because there are so many small companies here. The primary industries are agriculture and tourism so everyone is challenged to offer the best quality and best service they can. Because these are the things that bring customers back to buy again.

So you get all varieties of agricultural business and all sorts of small cottages, holiday lets, themed sites and the rest. Which makes for an interesting and enlivening combination.

Are you part of the purpose economy or just in business to make money?

Recently met up with some old friends who are living off-grid in a small community in Pembrokeshire.

Friends chatting outside after the opening ceremony.

We went on a full moon day, but in the afternoon under a clear blue sky. The whole atmosphere of the place was wonderfully natural, refreshing and clean.

Over the winter our friends had been building a round-house and we were there for the opening ceremony. It was almost over when we got there late but we still felt the warm, welcoming vibes and got to hear some of the singing – ‘we stand tall, we stand tall’ was the refrain.

It was a very inspiring and rejuvenating couple of hours spent talking with old and new friends that afternoon beneath Carn Ingli mountain. And we brought back home a sense of having experienced something very precious.

Will have to visit again and see what its like in different weather.

A few days after our visit I looked on Google to see if there was anything online about the place. Lo and behold they have a web page of their own Tir Ysbrydol (Spirit Land).

Let’s get real here.

We all have to live in the real world – right?

The media and politicians present us with their own view of things but our lives go on whether we listen to them or not.

As members of society and of the world family we can be responsible for our own lives and our own actions.

Modern life involves using the web to buy things, sell things, learn things, exchange ideas, play games, meet new people and keep in touch with friends and family.

All of us can tell our story, give our ‘testimony’ online.

Community success involves co-operation and collaboration in order for everyone to be happy.

Community is essential

In real life ‘community’ is an essential part of a successful, harmonious, productive society.

‘No man is an island’ and all that. Surely its obvious that we are all benefited by making the effort to co-operate.

Another trite but wise saying; ‘Together everyone achieves more’.

On Mother Earth everything is provided, all we have to do is learn what our purpose is and make the most of our time here.

When we get isolated we can easily succumb to mental health issues, depression and general ill-health.

When we are able to be an active part of a community we function much better. We have support around us for getting through hard times.

Those of us who can help others, could and should help because all communities need active members to make them sustainable and ultimately to flourish.

Co-operation and collaboration are strengths

Through co-operation and collaboration individuals and small groups of people can use the Internet to achieve great things for their communities.

Often new groups go through a process of forming, storming, norming and then performing. So we should expect some listening on all sides before our communities can flourish.

And the basis of it all of course is mutual respect, trust and ultimately transcendental love. But this is not the place for discussions on the more esoteric aspect of life as humans!

Tusler Design have been involved in communities since the late 1980s, Thatcher’s Britain.

Since the Internet revolution of the 1990s Tusler Design have worked with a consistent emphasis on developing community through working together using the Internet. This is with large, medium and small businesses, organisations and individuals. All our work is aimed at utilising joined-up thinking to help our clients.

“We’ve lots of experience in helping turn ideas into reality!”

So contact us today to talk about your community and your project. We’re happy to have the opportunity to work with you and your group no matter what the cause or subject.